Thursday, January 22, 2009

I was working with a few options on how I was going to get to DC. I just had to figure out which would produce the best experience. Not going wasn’t an option, EVER! I felt that this occurrence was the equivalent of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Speech, and history like that refuses to be missed by these eyes!

I decided to go to DC with my undergraduate school, Albany State University, which was a great choice. I was given the opportunity to take a trip with some old colleagues and some students I hadn’t had the pleasure of knowing before this trip and it all paid off.

Of course taking a trip like this, on a bus, with a bunch of different taste pallets, everyone wants to stop for something to eat, but everyone wants something different. So our bus driver, who by the way did his thing, by pressing the heck out of the gas peddle, made the decision unbenounced to the majority of the bus to make a right off the exit to Wendy’s when in fact there was an overwhelming group of McDonalds fans that saw there fast food establishment to the left. Our bus driver, being the kind man that he was realized his mistake and tried to bust the illest U-turn and….

Needless to say…we got stuck, had to all get off the bus, and wait for a tow truck to come pull us out.

So what did we end up doing?

You got it…walking back to Wendy’s and eating, as we waited for the Bus….

TOO FUNNY!!!

OK enough about the Pre-DC experience…although there is so much more to tell.

Being a photographer at one of the biggest events of my lifetime, and certainly one of the most covered events (Television, photo-journalists, amateur photographers, etc..) I wanted to make this experience genuine for me when I looked back at it. So I wracked my brain to figure out what I didn’t think would be seen as much, by those not here that were watching through another persons eyes, and to be honest I just didn’t know! There were tons and tons and tons of people, and every time I picked my camera up I found myself shooting the oceans of people.

Along with that, at times, the crowd was so tight, I couldn’t even pick my camera up. I honestly attempted to let my body go, let my legs dangle, just to see if I could fall to the ground, but I couldn’t, I was being held up by the people around me, and it was amazing, kind of scary, but really amazing. So I ended up just taking pictures of what made me smile. Cheesy, corny, yea I know, but at the core of this entire experience it was about me, so hey, gotta make sure your star player’s happy first ☺ !

Sunday, January 11, 2009

So, let me start off by saying that these are not "My" tips, just tips that I've either found and use or found and added to, with that being said....

One of many people/resources I've looked at over time for interesting tips on in-studio setups and fairly minor but powerful post production tips is a man by the name of Zack Arias. He runs a studio called UsedFilm and is based out of Atlanta, GA. In my Opinion his work is great! He has a unique way of using light, very interesting perspectives, and uses equipment that's generally inexpensive, to produce professional quality results.

One video he has that i found extremely useful is post production on White seamless paper...

White Seamless paper is used at every level of photography, as well as in various aspects of advertisements and its crucial to know how to handle it.

Check it out...Let me know if you think this is useful....and i will gladly post more tips

After he showed me this...it really allowed me to be a bit more free when shooting on white seamless because i knew how to clean it up...

Composition in your frame is very important as well. Depending on how you shoot a subject on seamless paper you may run the risk of wasting valuable space on your sensor that will keep your image looking sharp and crisp!

Since my mom mailed my dads Pentax K1000 to me about 5 or 6 years ago there has been one thing consistent besides me taking pictures, and that was a great friend of mine named Sus helping me find my way into a new passion, which for the past several years has held my attention and kept me motivated.

She has acted as my muse, my photograph critic, life coach, partner in crime, relationship counselor, and my picture-taking buddy. Often I remember she and I taking random pictures of stuff trading between that Pentax k1000 and this Nikon n70 I got off eBay, because it was painful getting a roll of film developed from the k1000 and finding out I paid $7 for two in focus, correctly exposed, images of a broken bolt on the side of the road. We were so deep back then!

I don’t know how deep this is but I’m almost positive that there are very few things guaranteed to last forever in this world.

But when you find a friend, a true friend that gives it to you straight up!

A person not afraid to tell you that you’re making no sense!A person that will tell you that your girlfriends not talking to you because you were being a butthead, not her!A person that inspires you by simply existing!

You’ve got something that’s worth fighting for forever!

A friendship!

This is just a shout out to one of my bestest friends in the world!

SUSAN B. ANTHONY <<< No this isn't her real name, that’s just what I call her!

Never be afraid to show your love for the ones that matter!Maybe they need to hear it sometimes! Maybe…

Friday, January 2, 2009

So often i've been asked what type of camera to purchase for general use.

The hard thing about that question is, although i know a lot about my camera, and cameras similar to mine, I don't tend to use what are called point and shoot cameras.

side note: Honestly i need one, lugging the tank I've got around all the time tends to be a bit cumbersome and slightly annoying, especially when the occasion doesn't call for such things.

With matters like these I don't mind looking to sources i feel are reliable to get a better grasp on what is being offered, and I found a top ten list that I agree with on pcworld.com

Hope this helps some get a grasp on what they might have purchased for Christmas or plan on purchasing in general, of course if you need to ask about a specific camera...leave a response and i can let you know what i find, or think!